2025 Booker prize longlist musings

As a panel we’ve made our predictions for the shortlist which will be announced tomorrow. Every year we rate each book on several categories including writing, originality, plot development, character development, and personal enjoyment. This year we will also pick our favorite book specific to each category and a few other categories. So here are our musings and reflections on this year’s longlist.

Jen’s overall thoughts: This was perhaps the most cohesive set of books in years. Most were slow paced, reflective books and as a result several of them blended into each other as I was reading. I enjoyed most of them but I did feel it became repetitive over time reading these slow meditations over and over again. Granted, the settings, characters, and plot were different but they felt very closely linked. From among the list, Audition, Endling, and Universality stood out to me as memorable. A year from now I will remember the plot and characters, and feelings I had when reading those. I’m not convinced that that the others will stick out to me (with the exception of The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny which I read way too fast). I’ll probably also remember generally that I don’t like Szalay’s books but I can still appreciate his talent as a writer. In fact while I didn’t enjoy reading his book, at least it elicited an emotion from me, compared to The Rest of our Lives which made me nothing.

How many of the longlist books did you read: All of them
Best writing: The Land in Winter
Most original: Endling
Best Plot development: Endling
Best Character development: The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny
Most enjoyable read: Endling & Seascraper
Least enjoyable read:  The Rest of our Lives
Most forgettable book: Love Forms
Which book would you want to read again? Audition

Tracy’s overall thoughts: There seemed to be some cohesiveness with the list. A lot of soul searching, some road trips, relationship issues, politics, and a little snail love. A normal Booker year, all told.
I loved a few, some made me think, and others just left me wanting that time back. Standouts were Endling and Audition, with Sonia & Sunny and Flashlight right up there. Oh, and Seascraper.

How many of the longlist books did you read: all of them.
Best writing: Endling
Most original: Audition
Best Plot development: Endling
Best Character development: Sonia and Sunny
Most enjoyable read: Endling/Flashlight/Seascraper
Least enjoyable read:  The Rest of Our Lives
Most forgettable book: The Rest of Our Lives/Love Forms
Which book would you want to read again? Audition/Sonia and Sunny (S&S didn’t get the attention they deserved!)

Anita’s overall thoughts: My favorite literature is character driven, very realistic, and leaves room for the reader to bring at least some of their own interpretation to the table. This list was mostly very up my alley. I enjoyed the quiet contemplative nature of many of them, and honestly, I think several would stand up well to a re-read. That’s definitely my bar – – would I want to try it again?

How many of the longlist books did you read: Finished 10; Halfway through the 11th

Best writing: The Land in Winter (only half way through this one, but love the writing on every level).
Most original: Endling
Best Plot development: Seascraper
Best Character development: Flesh
Most enjoyable read: Audition
Least enjoyable read:  Love Forms
Most forgettable book: Misinterpretation
Which book would you want to read again? Well, I already read Audition twice, so I’ll say Universality.\

Nicole’s overall thoughts: Overall, I thought this was a pretty tepid year. I wasn’t blown away by any of the books though I enjoyed a number of them.

How many of the longlist books did you read: Finished 8, DNF 2 and am still reading one.

Best writing: Seascraper
Most original: Endling
Best Plot development: Flashlight
Best Character development: One Boat
Most enjoyable read: Seascraper
Least enjoyable read:  Universality (which I DNF at halfway)
Most forgettable book: The South (I literally forgot about it until I saw it on the list)
Which book would you want to read again?  Seascraper would be the only one I would choose to re-read, I may try to finish the ones I DNF if they are longlisted.

We want to hear from you. Which books did you like and why? Drop us your thoughts and reviews in the comment section!